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Politics

June 16, 2009

Iran, right now, is the breaking news story, with hundreds of thousands of students taking the streets to protest the elections yesterday and, likely, today. There were beatings, mob violence, cars aflame...and lots and lots of tweets. Plenty of news agencies are just now latching onto this story, but none seems so deeply engaged (and constantly updating) as The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan. He's been sifting through Twitter feeds, emails, video—really doing yeoman's duty to report on this 21st century revolution. Check his blog at: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

May 20, 2009

President Barak Obama and the Department of the Interior have proposed $50 million in new investments that would help children and families become more connected with outdoor activities. The initiative, dubbed the 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps, is included in the DOI’s 2010 budget proposal, with $30 million going to educating young hunters and anglers and $20 million destined to fund Youth Careers in Nature.

“This kind of interest in youth and the outdoors is fairly unprecedented,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, Senior Legislative Representative of the National Wildlife Federation. Fitzgerald also credits Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s upbringing in Colorado and his special interest in conservation as part of the impetus for the initiative.
The main goal of the monetary infusion is to get a generation who spends half as much time outdoors as their parents interested in nature. According to information released by the DOI, they will do this by building on existing youth programs in the BLM, USGS, FWS, and NPS.

Money for the hunting and angling programs will be specifically targeted at rapidly growing, under-represented groups like Native American Tribes, who could receive $2.8 million. On the educational end of things, the initiative hopes to renew interest in outdoor service careers with a three pronged approach that includes engaging youth in public service, enhancing school science programs, and improving the curricula of national environmental education programs.

The program is ambitious and one hopes that it will survive the appropriations process in Congress without losing too much of its punch. After all, the stakes couldn’t be higher. As the report says: “the future success of resource conservation efforts and effective stewardship of public lands and resources is reliant on an engaged public that values nature.”

April 09, 2009

Even as more of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica threatens to crumble, in part due to warming temperatures, man’s influence on the continent is being heavily debated during these next two weeks in Baltimore. Timed to honor the 50th anniversary of the signing of the treaty that governs the continent, more than 400 officials and observers from around the world have gathered to ponder its future.

A seemingly bold, initial proposal was delivered by the Obama Administration at the onset of the meeting, via the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which wants to amend the treaty and impose mandatory limits on the size of cruise ships sailing there and the number of passengers they bring ashore.

Currently, there are neither limits on how big a ship can sail to Antarctica, nor how many passengers it can carry. There are voluntary rules on how many people can land onshore at anyone time, which limits landings to the smaller ships–rather than the Princess Star, which carries more than three thousand passengers down to photograph icebergs from the comfort of its Jacuzzis. The Obama proposal encourages written changes to the treaty in order to “ensure that tourism is conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.”

Amending the Antarctic treaty is difficult, in part because it requires the unanimous agreement of all 47 signatory countries. The new U.S. proposal contains no specific enforcement mechanism or penalties for limiting tourist operations. But it would require signatories to the pact to ensure that Antarctic tour operators bar ships with more than 500 passengers from landing sites, restrict landings to one vessel at a time per site and limit passengers on shore to 100 at a time. These numbers match the current voluntary limits, but go a step further by asking they become the official language of the treaty.

The number of tourists visiting the continent continues to boom; more ships and more people means more potential for calamity - in the past two seasons I’ve watched one ship sink, two more run aground. And there are other, unreported accidents each season. In 1992-93, 6,700 tourists visited … this past year more than 45,000. It’s clear that something needs to be done to limit or at least legally monitor the boom. I’m surprised such a specific proposal came from the U.S. … But I like it.

November 06, 2008

With the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, people around the world have been voicing their support—sometimes in song. After reviewing a host of old and new Internet tunes, ranging from calypso (The Mighty Sparrow) to reggae (Coco Tea) to Obama Girl's "I Got a Crush...On Obama," we found our favorite: Kenyan benga-American rock band Extra Golden's tribute "Obama."Download a free live recording here.

Bonus: To listen to a surprising alternative to the "Yes We Can" anthem, click here >>

November 03, 2008

Final showdown: This two-year, multi-stage ultra-marathon has challenged top endurance competitors in enough battles to K.O. Mike Tyson. Need arefresher? Now it’s down to two major contenders and the finish line is finally in sight, as is the much anticipated prize--the Presidency of the United States. In this special edition of Adventure in 60 Seconds, we turn our attention a few adventure-worthy tidbits of the Presidential election.

And now for that election public service announcement you knew was coming: You can drive, walk, bike, or carpool, or travel in some adventure of your own, just make sure you get the polls Tuesday and vote.

September 04, 2008

John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential running mate produced two questions from the press: Who is this person and where is she from? Over the course of the last two weeks, Ms. Palin, the media, and the Obama campaign have all sought to answer the first. Now, we answer the second. Our Adventure Guide to Wasilla, Alaska, begins on the next page.